Theodore Roethke’s “The Far Field”: The Spiritual Experiences through Jungian Archetypes
Theodore Roethke’s “The Far Field”: The Spiritual Experiences through Jungian Archetypes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26436/hjuoz.2022.10.3.844Keywords:
Roethke, Mysticism, “The Far Field”, Jungian archetypes, cycle of birth and death, reincarnation, and God.Abstract
ABSTRACT:
This research paper deals with one of the most prominent poems by a modern American poet Theodore Huebner Roethke (1908-1963) and the title of the poem is “The Far Field” (1964). The current paper examines the underlining mystical significance of the images used in Roethke’s “The Far Field.” In this poem, the poet figuratively expresses his spiritual journey to realize God within himself through deep contemplation in nature. Very much similar to the mystic experience of realizing the divine within himself while living in solitude. The discussion explores particular Jungian archetypes in this poem scrutinizing their referentiality both on the aesthetic figurative level of the poem and on the spiritual dimension. For example, Roethke dexterously employs the image of the far field to refer to death but interestingly this far field with which dead animals are strewn about is also a symbol of rebirth where new life is destined to emerge like a garden that decays in September only to flourish back in spring. Thereby, throughout such images drawn from nature, the poet portrays the different stages of spiritual growth he passes through. These stages are; fear of mortality, transcending this fear through realizing the cycle of birth and death which is the reincarnation, and finally the detachment from the physical realism into a union with the divine.
References
References
Balakian, P.(1989) Theodore Roethke's Far Fields: The Evolution of His Poetry. Baton Rogue: Louisiana State University Press.
Barua, A. (2017) ‘The Reality and the Verifiability of Reincarnation’ , Religions Journal, 8(162), pp. 1-13. doi: 10.3390/rel8090162
Barzinji, L., & Hasan, M. (2016) ‘A Modernist Reading of Ezra Pound, Thomas Stearns Eliot and William Carlos Williams’ , International Review of Social Sciences, 4(12), pp. 561-574. Available at: www.irss.academyirmbr.com (Accessed: 25 February 2022).
Curto, R. (2013) ‘Poetry in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Denis Roche’s Le Mercit’ , Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory, 24(2), pp. 138-163. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10436928.2013.785175
Dougherty, J. (2001) ‘’Theodore Roethke’s North America Sequence’, Religious Awakening in the West’ , L and B Publishing, Notre Dame Univeristy Press, pp.177-203. Available at: http://www.uobabylon.edu.iq/publications/humanities_edition14/humanities_ed14_3.doc (Accessed: 4 December 2021)
Duke, L. A. (1992) Existential elements in the poetry of Theodore Roethke. MA thesis. Lakehead University. Available at: http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca (Accessed: 10 December 2021)
Heyen, W.(1969) ‘The Divine Abyss: Theodore Roethke’s Mysticism’ , Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 11(2), pp. 1051-1068. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40754048 (Accessed: 13 August 2021)
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.(1996) Adventures in American Literature. New York: Harcourt Brace Company.
Hirsch, E. (2014) A Poet’s Glossary. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Hurst, R. E. (1997) Spiritual Quest as Poetic Sequence: Theodore Roethke's "North Spiritual Quest as Poetic Sequence: Theodore Roethke's "North American Sequence" and its Relation to T S Eliot's "Four Quartets." MA thesis. College of William & Mary. Available at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd (Accessed: 10 October 2021)
Jung, C. G.(1964) Man and His Symbols. New York: Anchor Press.
Kang, K. (2013) The Peacock. Journal Symbols and Sandplay Therapy, 4(1), pp. 35-43. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12964/jsst.130005
Loreto, P.(2017) The Protestant Imagery in the Theodore Roethke’s Early Poetry. MA thesis. University of Milan. Available at: https://air.unimi.it/bitstream/2434/546125/2/phd_unimi_R10896 (Accessed: 5 December 2021).
Molesworth, C. (1990) ‘ ‘Backward-spreading brightness’: Career’s End in Contemporary American Poetry’ , Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory, 1(3), pp. 183-189. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10436929008580028
Neiman, M. M. N.(1971) The Spiritual Journey ii the Poetry of Theodore Roethke. MA thesis. North Texas State University. Available at: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc131440/m2/1/high_res_d/n_04351.pdf (Accessed: 4 January 2022).
Omar, A. W. (2012) Coleridge and William Wordsworth as Pioneers of Romanticism with Lyrical Ballads. MA thesis. Bharati Vidyapeeth Demeed University. Available at: https://www.uor.edu.krd/research/MSc/3.pdf (Accessed: 26 February 2022).
Panthi, D. R. (2017) ‘Quest for Arcadia in Theodore Roethke's The Far Field’ , Pashupati Pragya Journal, 1 (1), pp. 152 - 159. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/31147685/Quest_for_Arcadia_in_Theodore_Roethkes_The_Far_Field (Accessed: 6 January 2022).
Parini, J. (1979) Theodore Roethke: An American Romantic. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press.
Pietrzak, W. (2019) ‘Language of Poetry and Language of Nature in Maurice Riordan and Sean Lysaght’, Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory, 30(3), pp. 230-245. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10436928.2019.1631635
Ralph, M. J. (1963) Theodore Roethke. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Roethke, T. H. (1975) The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. Garden City: Anchor Press.
Roethke, T. H.(2001) On Poetry and Craft: Selected Prose. Forward by Carolyn Kizer. Port Townsend: Copper Canyon Press.
Suwarso, S. H.(2013) Figurative Language Used in “Acquainted with Night.” By Robert Frost. MA thesis. Udayana University. Available at: https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/sastra/article/download/4431/3346/ (Accessed: 23 March 2022).
Sullivan, R. (1975) ‘A Still Center: A Reading of Theodore Roethke's ‘North American Sequence’’ , Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 16 (4), pp. 765-783. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40754357 (Accessed: 6 January 2022).
Steinbeigle, B. B. (1969) An Approach to Imagery in the Poetry of Theodore Roethke. MA thesis. Loyola University Chicago. Available at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses (Accessed: 10 October 2021).
Underhill, E. (1930) Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Man’s Spiritual Consciousness (12th ed.) New York: E. P. Dutton.
Underhill, E. (1915). Practical Mysticism. Available at: http://www.anglicanlibrary.org/underhill/UnderhillPracticalMysticism.pdf (Downloaded: 11 December 2021).
Zhang , K. (2008) Archetype and Allegory in Journey to the West. MA Thesis. University of Victoria. Available at: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/1823/Archetype_and_Allegory_in_Journey6.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed: 6 March 2022).
Balakian, P.(1989) Theodore Roethke's Far Fields: The Evolution of His Poetry. Baton Rogue: Louisiana State University Press.
Barua, A. (2017) ‘The Reality and the Verifiability of Reincarnation’ , Religions Journal, 8(162), pp. 1-13. doi: 10.3390/rel8090162
Barzinji, L., & Hasan, M. (2016) ‘A Modernist Reading of Ezra Pound, Thomas Stearns Eliot and William Carlos Williams’ , International Review of Social Sciences, 4(12), pp. 561-574. Available at: www.irss.academyirmbr.com (Accessed: 25 February 2022).
Curto, R. (2013) ‘Poetry in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: Denis Roche’s Le Mercit’ , Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory, 24(2), pp. 138-163. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10436928.2013.785175
Dougherty, J. (2001) ‘’Theodore Roethke’s North America Sequence’, Religious Awakening in the West’ , L and B Publishing, Notre Dame Univeristy Press, pp.177-203. Available at: http://www.uobabylon.edu.iq/publications/humanities_edition14/humanities_ed14_3.doc (Accessed: 4 December 2021)
Duke, L. A. (1992) Existential elements in the poetry of Theodore Roethke. MA thesis. Lakehead University. Available at: http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca (Accessed: 10 December 2021)
Heyen, W.(1969) ‘The Divine Abyss: Theodore Roethke’s Mysticism’ , Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 11(2), pp. 1051-1068. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40754048 (Accessed: 13 August 2021)
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.(1996) Adventures in American Literature. New York: Harcourt Brace Company.
Hirsch, E. (2014) A Poet’s Glossary. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Hurst, R. E. (1997) Spiritual Quest as Poetic Sequence: Theodore Roethke's "North Spiritual Quest as Poetic Sequence: Theodore Roethke's "North American Sequence" and its Relation to T S Eliot's "Four Quartets." MA thesis. College of William & Mary. Available at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd (Accessed: 10 October 2021)
Jung, C. G.(1964) Man and His Symbols. New York: Anchor Press.
Kang, K. (2013) The Peacock. Journal Symbols and Sandplay Therapy, 4(1), pp. 35-43. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12964/jsst.130005
Loreto, P.(2017) The Protestant Imagery in the Theodore Roethke’s Early Poetry. MA thesis. University of Milan. Available at: https://air.unimi.it/bitstream/2434/546125/2/phd_unimi_R10896 (Accessed: 5 December 2021).
Molesworth, C. (1990) ‘ ‘Backward-spreading brightness’: Career’s End in Contemporary American Poetry’ , Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory, 1(3), pp. 183-189. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10436929008580028
Neiman, M. M. N.(1971) The Spiritual Journey ii the Poetry of Theodore Roethke. MA thesis. North Texas State University. Available at: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc131440/m2/1/high_res_d/n_04351.pdf (Accessed: 4 January 2022).
Omar, A. W. (2012) Coleridge and William Wordsworth as Pioneers of Romanticism with Lyrical Ballads. MA thesis. Bharati Vidyapeeth Demeed University. Available at: https://www.uor.edu.krd/research/MSc/3.pdf (Accessed: 26 February 2022).
Panthi, D. R. (2017) ‘Quest for Arcadia in Theodore Roethke's The Far Field’ , Pashupati Pragya Journal, 1 (1), pp. 152 - 159. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/31147685/Quest_for_Arcadia_in_Theodore_Roethkes_The_Far_Field (Accessed: 6 January 2022).
Parini, J. (1979) Theodore Roethke: An American Romantic. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press.
Pietrzak, W. (2019) ‘Language of Poetry and Language of Nature in Maurice Riordan and Sean Lysaght’, Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory, 30(3), pp. 230-245. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10436928.2019.1631635
Ralph, M. J. (1963) Theodore Roethke. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Roethke, T. H. (1975) The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. Garden City: Anchor Press.
Roethke, T. H.(2001) On Poetry and Craft: Selected Prose. Forward by Carolyn Kizer. Port Townsend: Copper Canyon Press.
Suwarso, S. H.(2013) Figurative Language Used in “Acquainted with Night.” By Robert Frost. MA thesis. Udayana University. Available at: https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/sastra/article/download/4431/3346/ (Accessed: 23 March 2022).
Sullivan, R. (1975) ‘A Still Center: A Reading of Theodore Roethke's ‘North American Sequence’’ , Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 16 (4), pp. 765-783. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40754357 (Accessed: 6 January 2022).
Steinbeigle, B. B. (1969) An Approach to Imagery in the Poetry of Theodore Roethke. MA thesis. Loyola University Chicago. Available at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses (Accessed: 10 October 2021).
Underhill, E. (1930) Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Man’s Spiritual Consciousness (12th ed.) New York: E. P. Dutton.
Underhill, E. (1915). Practical Mysticism. Available at: http://www.anglicanlibrary.org/underhill/UnderhillPracticalMysticism.pdf (Downloaded: 11 December 2021).
Zhang , K. (2008) Archetype and Allegory in Journey to the West. MA Thesis. University of Victoria. Available at: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/1823/Archetype_and_Allegory_in_Journey6.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed: 6 March 2022).
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Published
2022-09-24
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Almohammed, H., & Mahmoud , A. (2022). Theodore Roethke’s “The Far Field”: The Spiritual Experiences through Jungian Archetypes: Theodore Roethke’s “The Far Field”: The Spiritual Experiences through Jungian Archetypes. Humanities Journal of University of Zakho, 10(3), 876–. https://doi.org/10.26436/hjuoz.2022.10.3.844
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Humanities Journal of University of Zakho
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